Method and assembly for handling wind turbine blades

ABSTRACT

A method for mounting a blade root of a blade on a blade flange of a wind turbine rotor, the method comprising: attaching a control line between a hold structure at the blade flange and the blade root; lifting the blade with a blade lifting crane while the blade root is guided towards the blade flange by use of said control line, and connecting said blade root to said blade flange.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/468,431, filed Jun. 11, 2019 (pending), which is a U.S. NationalPhase Application of PCT Application No. PCT/DK2017/050406, filed Dec.4, 2017 (expired), which claimed the priority of Danish Application No.2016 00794, filed Dec. 23, 2016, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

In wind turbines, wind energy is converted into mechanical energy byblades carried by a hub. The hub is carried by a shaft, which rotates inresponse to the energy conversion. The size and weight of the windturbine tower, blades, and drive train have increased over the years andhandling during transport and erection of the wind turbines has becomemore and more challenging.

BACKGROUND

Modern wind turbines may include towers more than 100 meters tall wheninstalled. A hub, blades, nacelle, and various components to be housedwithin the nacelle (e.g., a gearbox and generator) must all be raised tothis level. One conventional approach for lifting such componentsincludes using a mobile crane, such as a truck-mounted orindependently-movable, lattice-boom crane. Mobile cranes are commonlyused because of their versatility and ability to be assembled at windturbine sites, which are often located in remote areas, and moved aroundat the sites once assembled.

The lifting height and capacity of mobile cranes are limited. Existingtower heights are already a challenge for mobile crane technology, andeven when large and expensive lifting equipment is available,difficulties may remain in particular related to assembly operationsrequiring precise alignment of heavy or large components, particularlyin strong wind conditions, or at sea where the lifting crane istypically on a barge which is subject to waves etc. When assembling theblades to the hub, precise alignment of a plurality of bolts relative toa bolted flange is necessary, and due to the large dimensions, even arelative small displacement of the blade relative to the hub may createa large disposition of the bolts relative to the receiving flange.

Accordingly, not only the availability of the cranes becomes a concern.Resources are also required to align and assemble the wind turbinecomponents at the site where the wind turbine is erected.

Generally, the need for lifting components, particularly formaintenance, has been addressed by installing lifting equipment at thetop of wind turbine tower. Such equipment may e.g., lift spare partsinto the interior of the nacelle, e.g., through an opening in the floorof the nacelle. The lifting capacity of such equipment is typicallylimited to 30-40 tons or less.

As can be appreciated, new devices and methods for raising and aligningcomponents at the top of a wind turbine tower are highly desirable.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, in view of the present disclosure, a method is provided formounting a blade on a wind turbine rotor which is carried by a windturbine structure. The method comprises:

-   -   attaching a control line between a hold structure at the blade        flange and the blade root;    -   attaching a blade lifting crane to the blade, e.g., via a        blade-fixture;    -   using the blade lifting crane to carry at least a part of the        blade while the blade root is guided towards the blade flange by        use of said control line, and    -   connecting said blade root to said blade flange.

Since the blade is lifted at least partly by a blade lifting crane whilethe blade root is guided towards the blade flange, very large and heavyblades can be attached efficiently and safely without facingdifficulties reaching the blade flange. Particularly since the controlline extends between the blade root and a hold structure at the bladeflange, precise positioning is possible.

Since the control line provides positional control while the weight ofthe blade is carried at least partly by the blade lifting crane, thepositioning procedure becomes fast and the duration where theexternal-blade lifting crane is needed can be reduced. Accordingly, animproved efficiency and a safer and easier working process can beobtained.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the assembly procedure may beinitiated by the attachment of a lifting cable of the blade liftingcrane to the blade. The blade lifting crane may e.g., be an externalcrane, e.g., a mobile crane or a crane of a barge. The attachment of thelifting cable of the blade lifting crane may be carried out by attachinga blade-fixture to the blade. The blade-fixture could e.g., be aclamping fixture having a pair of grippers arranged to grip on oppositesides of the blade. The blade could e.g., be gripped at the centre ofgravity to thereby create balance and facilitate lifting of the blade,e.g., in an essentially horizontal orientation.

In addition to the lifting cable, the control line is attached to theblade and to the hold structure at the blade flange. Subsequently, theblade is lifted, and the length of the control line between the bladeand the hold structure is shortened, e.g., by use of a winch, until theblade root is joined with the blade flange. In this position, the bladeis bolted onto the flange, and the control line is released from thehold structure and from the blade. Also the fixture is released from theblade, and the procedure can be repeated for the next blade until allblades are attached.

The combination between the blade lifting crane and a control lineenables the use of only one single lifting point. By use of one singlelifting point, the blade would normally tend to rotate about thevertical lifting point, and therefore be difficult to position on theblade flange. However, due to the control line, the blade lifting cranemay be configured for a single point lifting whereby it suspends theblade along a single vertical lifting cable.

The blade may particularly be lifted in an essentially horizontalorientation, e.g., within plus/minus 10 degrees from horizontal, androtor may be rotated such that the blade flange is at a 3 o'clockposition where the receiving blade flange is vertical, i.e., againbetween −10 and +10 degrees from vertical, whatever matches theorientation of the blade. In this mutual orientation, the blade can bemounted by a horizontal pull in the control line. In this orientation,the control line may not carry any weight at all, and the blade liftingcrane, or other lifting means, may carry the entire weight of the bladeduring the last part of the movement of the blade towards the bladeflange, i.e., once the pull in the control line becomes purelyhorizontal, the entire weight may be carried by other means than thecontrol line. Accordingly, the control line is not loaded by the weightof the blade during the last part of the movement where the blade rootis to fit onto the blade flange.

The control line may be constituted by one or more wires or cables,e.g., steel-wires or robes. The control line may include differentstructures e.g., for sensing tension or for providing gearing. E.g., forthat purpose, the control line may include one or more blocks or pulleyswith a loop of wire or robe extending between the block(s).

The blade flange is a flange on the rotor on which flange the blade rootis attached. It could e.g., be constituted by a bearing ring of a bladebearing, e.g., the inner ring of a blade bearing or the outer ring of ablade bearing.

The control line is attached between said blade and said hold structureat the blade flange. The hold structure could be constituted by a hookor eyelet fixed to the rotor close to the blade flange, e.g., less than20 cm. outside the blade flange, or it could be attached directly to theblade flange. The hold structure could also be located inside the rotor.In this embodiment, the control line is wired from the blade into therotor through a hole, e.g., in the blade flange or in an outer ring of ablade bearing or in a stiffening plate within the inner ring of theblade bearing. In one embodiment, the blade root end comprises a flangewith a plurality of bolts. Each of these bolts is received in a hole inthe rotating ring of the blade bearing, e.g., the inner ring or theouter ring of the blade bearing. In this embodiment, one of the bolts inthe blade root end could be removed, and a control line attached inreplacement of the bolt. This control line could be threaded throughthat hole of the blade bearing which was intended to receive the removedbolt. In that way, the blade could be pulled more precisely towards thecorrect location on the blade bearing. When the blade is mounted, thecontrol line could be replaced with a bolt inserted into the bladethrough the blade bearing, i.e., inserted from inside the rotor into theblade.

In one embodiment, the blade flange joins with the blade root along anaxial end face, and the hold structure is attached to a radially,peripheral, outer surface of the blade flange, e.g., vertically abovethe axial end face on which the blade is received. In this way, theblade root can be guided by the control line all the way towards theblade flange until the blade root of the blade joins the axial end faceof the blade flange.

In one embodiment, the blade flange is constituted by an inner ring of ablade bearing. In this embodiment, the hold structure may e.g., be ahook or other structure allowing attachment of the control line to theouter ring of the blade bearing

In one embodiment, the blade flange is constituted by an outer ring of ablade bearing. In this embodiment, the hold structure may be locatede.g., inside the rotor and the control line could be passed through thecentral opening within the blade bearing.

The control line can be fixed e.g., to the blade root. It could e.g., betied around the blade root, or a control line holder could be fixed,e.g., bolted or clamped, onto the blade, and the control line beattached to the holder.

The control line could also be attached to the blade-fixture which isused for lifting the blade by the blade lifting crane.

The rotor may include a spinner which is mounted on a hub. The spinnermay form a cavity for each blade such that the blade flange is at thebottom of a cavity in the spinner. In this case, the hold structure mayparticularly be attached inside the cavity to thereby allow the bladeroot to be pulled into the cavity by use of the control line.

To prevent the control line from damaging the spinner, a wire supportmay be provided, e.g., fixed on the spinner, or fixed on the bladeflange, or fixed to a stiffening plate within the blade flange. The wiresupport may hold the control line at a support point at an entrance tothe cavity, e.g., at a point being outside the cavity but close to theedge extending about the opening into the cavity. The wire support mayparticularly hold the control line offset from the blade flange, and thewire support may particularly hold the control line releasably, wherebythe control line can be released once the blade root is close to theopening into the cavity. In that way, the blade root can be pulledtowards the wire support in a first attraction sequence and towards thehold structure in a second attraction sequence, the second sequencestarting once the control line is released from the wire support.

A winch for winding up the control line and thus reducing the length ofthe control line between the blade and the hold structure could be fixedeither to the rotor or to the blade. The winch could e.g., be fixeddirectly to the blade, or it could be fixed to the blade-fixture bywhich the blade lifting crane lifts the blade. Alternatively, it couldbe located inside the rotor and wind up a control line which extendsthrough a hole in the rotor or blade flange etc.

The method may comprise the step of attaching a blade root guide at theblade root and guiding the control line from the winch through the bladeroot guide to the hold structure, e.g., via the aforementioned wiresupport.

The blade root guide may allow the control line to slide longitudinallyrelative to the blade root guide. In one embodiment, the blade rootguide is simply an eyelet or block through which the control line isguided.

In one embodiment, the control line is allowed to be released completelyfrom the blade root guide, e.g., by pulling in a specific direction.This may facilitate easy detachment of the control line from the bladeonce the blade is fixed to the rotor.

The weight of the blade may be carried mainly by the blade liftingcrane. In one example, the blade lifting crane caries more than 50 pct.,or even more than 75 pct. of the weight, e.g., more than 80, 85, 90 or95 pct. of the weight of the blade. The remaining part of the weightcould be carried by the control line. In one embodiment, the bladelifting crane carries the entire weight of the blade and the controlline exclusively pulls the blade towards the rotor.

The tension in the control line may be measured constantly orintermittently, and a threshold tension could be defined. If the tensionin the control line reaches the threshold, the control line could beslackened, e.g., by controlled operation of the winch or by release ofthe control line from the hold structure or from the blade. In that way,excessive forces on the blade lifting crane and/or on the wind turbinestructure may be prevented. On the contrary, if the tension is too low,the control line could be tightened.

In one embodiment, the control line is controlled, e.g., by controllingsaid winch, to maintain a specific first tension threshold, e.g., toprovide a pull of a specific weight, e.g., 500 kg. Additionally oralternatively, a specific second tension threshold may be defined whichshould not be exceeded.

The control line may be controlled:

to be winded up (shortened) if the actual tension is below the firsttension threshold, and/or

b) to be un-winded (extended) if the actual tension is above the secondtension threshold.

According to control principle a), the control line maintains a steadypull in the blade and thereby supports in keeping the blade in a desiredorientation while the blade is mounted.

According to control principle b), the control line is released at leastpartly if excessive forces are experienced.

The first tension thresholds may e.g., constitute between 10 and 99percent of the second tension threshold.

In one embodiment, the weight of the blade is carried by a combinationbetween the blade lifting crane and the control line such that thepercentage of the weight carried by the control line reduces from astart percentage when the distance from the blade root to the bladeflange is large, e.g., when the blade is on ground, to a lower endpercentage when the distance from the blade root to the blade flange issmall, e.g., when the blade root reaches the blade flange.

In one example, the start percentage is at least 50 percent and the endpercentage is at most 5 percent, meaning that the control line carriesbetween 5 and 50 percent of the weight of the blade depending on thedistance between the blade root and the blade flange.

The blade lifting crane may particularly be an external-blade liftingcrane which is not carried by the wind turbine structure but carried onground or sea. Alternatively, the blade lifting crane is carried e.g.,by the tower of the wind turbine.

The method may further comprise the step of attaching an additionalcontrol line between the wind turbine rotor and the blade. Theadditional control line may be particularly useful in connection withthe aforementioned horizontal mounting orientation where the additionalcontrol line can be used for carrying a part of the weight of the blade,e.g., when the blade is close to the blade flange where the control lineon the hold structure may not any more be capable of carrying the weightdue to a horizontal pull direction.

Eventually, once the blade is installed, the control line and thelifting cable are released or uncoupled from the wind turbine blade.

The winch and/or the release of the control line, and/or the additionalcontrol line, and/or the lifting cable may be remotely controlled, e.g.,from within the rotor or from the blade lifting crane.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method forremoving a blade from a blade flange of a wind turbine rotor, the methodcomprising:

-   -   attaching a control line between a hold structure at the blade        flange and the blade root;    -   attaching a blade lifting crane to the blade;    -   disconnecting said blade root from said blade flange; and    -   using the blade lifting crane to carry at least a part of the        blade while the blade root is guided away the blade flange by        use of said control line.

The method may include any of the features and steps mentioned relativeto the method of mounting a blade on a wind turbine.

In a third aspect the present disclosure provides a lifting arrangementfor mounting a blade root of a blade on a blade flange of a wind turbinerotor, the arrangement comprising:

-   -   a control line attachable to a hold structure at the blade        flange;    -   a blade-fixture for attachment to the blade and facilitating        lifting of the blade by use of a blade lifting crane; and    -   a winch fixed to the blade-fixture and configured to wind up the        control line.

The lifting arrangement may further comprise a blade root guide whichcan be attached to the blade root and which can guide the control linefrom the winch to the blade flange.

The lifting arrangement may further comprise a wire support configuredto be attached to the rotor and to hold the control line at distancefrom the blade flange. The wire support may particularly be configuredto facilitate release of the control line. Release of the control linemay be an advantage once the blade root is close to the blade flangesuch that the blade root of the blade can be pulled directly towards thehold structure.

The lifting arrangement may further comprise a wire control structurewith a defined threshold tension, .e.g., a control system embedded in acomputer system. The wire control structure may particularly beconfigured to determine a tension in the control line and to control thewinch based on the measured tension and the threshold tension.

The wire control structure may comprise a release structure configuredto release the control line based on the determined tension or torelease the control line when the blade is mounted to thereby makedisassembly of the system fast and easy.

The assembly may further include a release structure configured torelease the control line from the hold structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in further detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which

FIG. 1 illustrates a wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle, a rotorand blades attached to the rotor; and

FIGS. 2-8 illustrate a sequence of steps carried out during mounting ofa blade.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given byway of illustration only, since various changes and modifications withinthe spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from this detailed description.

FIG. 1 illustrates a modern wind turbine 1 with a tower 2 and a windturbine nacelle 3 positioned on top of the tower. The wind turbinerotor, comprising at least one blade such as three wind turbine blades 5as illustrated, is connected to the hub 4 through pitch mechanisms 6.Each pitch mechanism includes a blade bearing and pitch actuating meanswhich allows the blade to pitch. The blade bearing includes a bladeflange at which the blade root of the blade is fixed to the bearing.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wind turbine 7 on which two blades 8, 9 are alreadymounted. The third blade 10 is ready at the base of the blade liftingcrane 11. The blade lifting crane is an external crane having ablade-fixture 12 which holds the blade symmetrically about the centre ofgravity of the blade such that the blade is in balance. The control line13 extends from the blade root of the blade to the hold structure pointat the rotor 14.

FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged view of the rotor 14. In this view, it isclearly seen that the blade flange 15 is in a cavity formed by thespinner 16. The hold structure 17 is attached directly to the bladeflange and the control line 13 extends from the hold structure via awire support 18 towards the blade which is still at the ground. The wiresupport 18 is fixed to the stiffening plate 19 which is arranged withinthe blade flange. The wire support has a height corresponding to thedepth of the cavity such that the control line is held at the level ofthe edge 20 extending about the cavity. In that way, the wire support 18protects the edges of the spinner from being damaged by contact with thecontrol line.

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of the base of the blade liftingcrane where the blade-fixture 12 is arranged with gripping arms 21, 22on opposite sides of the blade, ready to grip the blade for lifting itto the level of the rotor. A winch 23 is fixed to the blade-fixture 12and capable of winding up the control line 13. At the blade root of theblade, the blade root guide 24 guides the control line from the winch 23towards the rotor. The blade root guide is arranged directly at the edgeof the blade to enable the blade being pulled all the way to itslocation at the blade flange.

FIG. 5 illustrates the blade when lifted to a position in level with therotor. The rotor is rotated such that the blade flange becomes vertical,and the blade is arranged essentially in a horizontal orientation. Inthis illustrated mutual orientation and position of the blade and bladeflange, the blade root of the blade can be pulled into the cavity of thespinner and the blade can be fixed to the blade flange. The pulling ofthe blade towards the blade flange is effected by the winch 23 which isoperated remotely either by an operator located in the rotor or by thecrane operator.

The control system 25 contains a computer system which controls thewinch and a release structure. If the tension in the control lineexceeds a limit value, the control system interacts with the humancontrol of the winch and releases the tension. Alternatively, in risk ofhazardous uncontrolled forces, the control system releases the controlline from the hold structure point to thereby release the blade from thewind turbine structure.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate further details of the procedure. Particularly,FIG. 7 illustrates the location of the hold structure 17 relative to theblade root guide 24 after the control line has been released from thewire support. In this second attraction sequence of the mountingprocedure, the blade root is pulled directly towards the blade flange.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment where an additional control line 26 isattached between the wind turbine rotor and the blade. The additionalcontrol line is able to support the control line 13 particularly duringthe movement of the blade into the cavity in the spinner. In thedisclosed embodiment, the additional support line is tied around theblade and fixed at a support-hold structure 27 at which it can be windedup. Alternatively, it is attached to the blade fixture.

The embodiments described above are merely examples of the inventiondefined by the claims that appear below. Persons skilled in thetechnical field of handling wind turbine components and mounting bladeswill appreciate additional examples, modifications, and advantages basedon the description. For example, the structure of the hold structure,the blade root guide, the winch and the blade-fixture may deviate fromthe illustration.

1. A lifting arrangement for mounting a blade root of a blade on a bladeflange of a wind turbine rotor, the arrangement comprising: a controlline attachable to a hold structure at the blade flange; a blade-fixturefor attachment to the blade and facilitating lifting of the blade by useof a blade lifting crane; and a winch fixed to the blade-fixture andconfigured to wind up the control line.
 2. The lifting arrangementaccording to claim 1, further comprising a blade root guide forattachment to the blade root and configured to guide the control linefrom the winch to the blade flange.
 3. The lifting arrangement accordingto claim 1, further comprising a wire support configured to be attachedto the rotor and to hold the control line at distance from the bladeflange.
 4. The lifting arrangement according to claim 1, furthercomprising a wire control structure with a defined threshold tension,the wire control structure being configured to determine a tension inthe control line and the to control the winch based on the measuredtension and the threshold tension.
 5. The lifting arrangement accordingto claim 4, wherein the wire control structure is configured to releasethe control line based on the determined tension.
 6. The liftingarrangement according to claim 1, comprising a release structureconfigured to release the control line from the hold structure.
 7. Amethod for removing a blade from a blade flange of a wind turbine rotor,the method comprising: attaching a control line between a hold structureat the blade flange and the blade root; attaching a blade lifting craneto the blade; disconnecting said blade root from said blade flange whensaid blade in in a substantially horizontal orientation; and using theblade lifting crane to carry at least a part of the blade while theblade root is guided away the blade flange by use of said control line.